中文       Español       Deutsch       Français       日本語
Xi's Focus Governance Wisdom Without Borders Governance Podcast
      
Subscribe
Central connections
18c04d00990c2752a69a54.jpg 0123AO67.jpg 0123AO71.jpg 0124AK64.jpg
/
  • The drum (left) and guqin (right) taken to Xizang by Tang Dynasty (618-907) Princess Wencheng as well as a seven-string instrument taken to Xizang by Tang Princess Jincheng. The guqin is a traditional Chinese musical instrument that belongs to the zither family
  • The iron armor gifted by Kublai Khan to Phagspa
  • The golden floral-patterned dharma wheel presented by the 13th Dalai Lama to Emperor Guangxu and Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
  • A traditional Tibetan thangka painting gifted by the current Dalai Lama to Chairman Mao Zedong in 1954. The painting features a portrait of Mao as well as work undertaken by government workers and service members in Xizang
  • 18c04d00990c2752a69a54.jpg
  • 0123AO67.jpg
  • 0123AO71.jpg
  • 0124AK64.jpg

Artifacts on display at a museum in Beijing shed light on exchanges between Xizang Autonomous Region and the Central Government throughout history.

Among the most notable objects are the musical instruments taken by Princess Wencheng and Princess Jincheng to Xizang. The two Tang Dynasty (618-907) princesses were wedded to the leaders of Xizang, then a kingdom, establishing rapport between the Tang court and the regional authorities.

In the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Xizang became a region under the direct jurisdiction of the Central Government. The exhibition featured gifts from Kublai Khan, founder of the Yuan Dynasty, to Phagspa, a Buddhist leader in Xizang and a Yuan imperial preceptor.

Objects that stand out in the exhibition's contemporary China section are gifts from the current Dalai Lama to Chairman Mao Zedong. The former presented Mao with a golden dharma wheel as well as a traditional Tibetan thangka painting when he attended the First Session of the First National People's Congress, China's top legislature, as a deputy in 1954. Despite his show of loyalty to the Central Government, the Dalai Lama secretly engaged in separatist activities, according to a 2015 government white paper on Xizang's path of development. He and his supporters instigated an armed rebellion in 1959.

After the rebellion was put down with the Dalai Lama fleeing abroad, democratic reform unfolded. Xizang's governance structure transitioned from a feudal system to a modern democracy. This transformation freed people from social class constraints, allowing them to elect their political representatives and voice their opinions.

(Photos by Wei Yao)

Copyedited by Elsbeth van Paridon

Comments to yanwei@cicgamericas.com

 

China
Opinion
World
Business
Lifestyle
Video
Multimedia
 
China Focus
Documents
Special Reports
 
About Us
Contact Us
Advertise with Us
Subscribe
Partners: China.org.cn   |   China Today   |   China Hoy   |   China Pictorial   |   People's Daily Online   |   Women of China   |   Xinhua News Agency
China Daily   |   CGTN   |   China Tibet Online   |   China Radio International   |   Global Times   |   Qiushi Journal
Copyright Beijing Review All rights reserved 京ICP备08005356号 京公网安备110102005860
Copy to clipboard